Kestrel Chicks 'Lucky To Be Alive'
Birds rescued from exhaust of an aeroplane on runway
Two kestrel chicks are "lucky to be alive" after being rescued from the exhaust of an aeroplane, the RSPCA says.
The A320 aircraft had been on the runway at the Bro Tathan West aerodrome in St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan since last August.
It was brought inside Caerdav's hangar for repairs when engineers spotted the two kestrels nesting inside.
Staff contacted RSPCA Cymru and inspector Simon Evans arrived to retrieve the chicks and transfer them to Gower Bird Hospital for rehabilitation and care.
Engineer Colin Harrison helped to remove the exhaust clamp before sliding a thin piece of board between the rear turbine and exhaust to prevent the chicks from becoming trapped.
Mr Evans then used a hook to pull the birds to safety before removing them by hand.
The chicks were very hungry, having not been fed by their mother for a number of days, when they were rescued on Friday.
They have since been named Umit and Lucky after the two technicians, Umit Atas and Luciano Ferriera, who first found them.
"These little chicks are lucky to be alive - and we're so relieved and grateful to the engineers who spotted them and sounded the alarm," Mr Evans said.
"These chicks were very hungry, and I have no doubt were rescued just in the nick of time, as they hadn't eaten for a number of days since the aircraft had been moved inside.
"Kestrels are less common than a lot of people think - but rescuing any animal from an aircraft is certainly a new one on me.
"We're just so very lucky mechanics hadn't started the aircraft's engine or this would have ended in disaster.
"The chicks are now in the safe hands of our friends at Gower Bird Hospital. It's only a short journey west of St Athan, so there'll be no jet lag for these lucky kestrels."
Kestrels have an amber conservation status in the UK, where there are approximately 46,000 breeding pairs.
The birds live on a diet of small mammals, birds, worms and insects.
Paul Nash, base maintenance manager at Caerdav, said Mr Atas and Mr Ferriera had been going up the tail section of the aircraft in a cherry picker when they spotted two pairs of eyes in the exhaust.
"On closer inspection, Umit saw that the pairs of eyes belonged to two chicks. Others were called to take a look and the guessing began as to what type of birds they were," Mr Nash said.
"None of the staff thought about kestrels, until we had confirmation from the RSPCA."
Mr Atas and Mr Ferriera put water and pieces of cooked chicken in bowls, which the chicks had consumed when checked 15 minutes later.
"The rescue caused a lot of interest in the hangar and all were relieved to see the chicks removed without harm," Mr Nash added.
"One thing we were all grateful for was that normally we would operate the auxiliary power unit before entering the hangar to carry out function checks.
"This wasn't needed otherwise the chicks would have met an untimely and scary end to their short lives."